News In Brief

In January, amid great fanfare, the state of Georgia unveiled its politically correct new flag. It shrinks the Confederate battle emblem, which offended civil rights leaders, from its once-dominant position to postcard size and places it on a blue background under the official seal and among a row of other flags that have flown over the Capitol. So here are the thanks all that effort has won: Flag enthusiasts rate it the US' ugliest. Results of a survey by the North American Vexillological Association give the Georgia banner just 2.36 points on a scale of zero to 10.

Speaking of state business, the Speaker of Maine's House of Representatives has been presented with a new space-age, carbon-fiber gavel to use. So what, you ask? Well, he needed it. With the force of his pounding he has splintered nine wooden ones this session.

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Ranking the US' most threatened historic places

Fewer than 300 classic, independent movie theaters still operate in the US, making them as a group the most endangered historical site in the US, according to the latest annual ranking of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Neglect, commercial development, and other factors determine whether sites are placed on the list. The most endangered sites, according to the National Trust:

1. Independent movie theaters

2. Bok Kai Buddhist Temple, Marysville, Calif.

3. Telluride Valley floor, Colo.

4. CIGNA campus, Bloomfield, Conn.

5. Home of Carter G. Woodson, the "father of black history," Washington